From the 18th century onwards, Newfoundland dogs were among the more unusual imports into the port of Poole. Intelligent, amiable and excellent water dogs and retrievers, they were much in demand by wealthy families and sportsmen who used them to fetch wildfowl from the sea. Poole became widely known as the place to acquire the dogs, and sea captains trading with Newfoundland found them a lucrative side-line. In the 19th century, tradesmen employed them to pull carts through the narrow streets of the old town until the practice was finally banned. Read more at: http://poolemuseumsociety.wordpress.com/